Above The Clouds
by matteney
Summary: "Who did they miss?," he wondered. "Who did they leave behind?" After a weekend in New York, Chandler returns to Tulsa.


Chandler glanced at his watch one last time before letting out a long sigh. Once more, the weekend was drawing to a close and he found himself in their bedroom, suitcase full with neatly folded clothes, unmistakably the work of his wife. A small smile played around his lips as he was overcome with love for her. The only upside to this weekly ordeal was the fact that she had offered to accompany him to JFK today because she had been able to switch shifts with a colleague.

"Honey, are you ready?" Monica said from the kitchen, making her way over to the bedroom. He knew better by now that she had his flight information planned meticulously. Chandler took a step back and closed the suitcase that was on top of the bed, lifting it up and placing it on the floor.

"As ready as I can be," he replied when she entered the room, giving him a sad smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body flush against his. He closed his eyes and pulled her in close, breathing in her scent before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Both of them held onto each other for a long time before Chandler pulled back slightly and looked into his wife's blue eyes. "Is this even included in your schedule or are we wasting precious minutes here?" He made an attempt to lighten up the mood.

"Hmmm," she grinned slightly before leaning in for another kiss. "Believe it or not, by now I kind of know that we're not the fastest when it comes to saying goodbye." She paused before lifting her eyebrow. "We're fast when it comes to a lot of other things…"

Chandler gave her a cheeky grin before shaking his head slightly. "My wife, ladies and gentlemen."

Monica let out a soft laugh and ran her hand through her husband's short brown hair. "Just trying to cheer you up."

"Oh boy, do I know."

* * *

The drive to the airport had been uneventful and without much disruption, to Chandler's dismay. Just like every other week, he was dreading all of this. Getting a taxi to the airport, checking in for his flight, waiting around at the gate and – most of all – boarding that godforsaken plane. He still wasn't sure whether Monica being there with him for now was making things easier or impossibly harder.

He watched as Monica made her way to the crowd just after he had dropped off his luggage. It still amazed him that he was married to his best friend and that she loved him as fiercely as all those years ago.

"Here you go," she handed him his Starbucks cup as they sat down on some of the most uncomfortable airport chairs Chandler had ever encountered.

He could tell that she was just as upset as he felt. She avoided his gaze while she was playing with the label of her cup, biting her lip now and then. He often wondered how they got into this situation. Just one sleepless night and he had wrecked everything. They sat in silence for a little while longer, each sipping their coffee. Not before long his flight was announced on the speakers.

By now, the frequent airport visits had become routine as he made his way to the security line. His hand felt sticky when he reluctantly let go of Monica's. He gave her another long kiss, trying to avoid looking into her sad blue eyes because he knew they would haunt his memory on the entire flight to Tulsa.

"Promise to call me when you land." Her caring words had by now become a mantra. Instead of goodnight kisses and lazy morning routines, this had become their new normal. A phone line entirely failing to make up for the loss of physical contact.

His answer came truthfully, but just as practised. "I will."

Chandler leaned in for another kiss, this time savouring the last seconds of their union. He could taste the coffee on her tongue and internally begged for time to stand still. Her delicate yet strong fingers clutched his leather jacket so hard that he felt physically constricted on top of his mental dilemma.

"I love you, Mon."

"I love you too, Chandler."

* * *

Once he was past the security line, he switched off his phone and mindlessly made his way to gate 22B. The chairs in the lounge were already filled with fellow business men and the occasional families and tourists. And before he could overthink his situation on the ground already, the staff began with the boarding procedure.

Even though the whole thing had become a routine for him, the moment during which the plane accelerated and effortlessly ascended into the evening sky never failed to amaze Chandler. He watched as the Manhattan skyscrapers came into view near the horizon, now appearing small and unremarkable. And yet he was entirely aware that everything he loved and cared about was down there.

For some reason he felt completely detached from everything, though. These days he would spend the majority of his time halfway across the country. He'd even found himself rooting for an Oklahoma marching band this past Thanksgiving, for crying out loud!

The plane continued to gain altitude and his eyes were fixated on the lower part of the Big Apple. If he squinted, he could almost see their apartment. He knew she was somewhere down there, probably doing something completely ordinary, but he still couldn't stop thinking about it.

He was leaving _her_ town again.

Meanwhile the seatbelt signs were being switched off and business continued as usual for the crew. Drinks were served, passengers rested their eyes or enjoyed the in-flight entertainment and the business men next to Chandler opened their laptops or focused their attention on the newspaper.

The neighbourhoods became smaller and smaller until they finally disappeared entirely behind an accumulation of thick clouds.

Chandler sighed, the drink in front of him still untouched.

Was he the only one feeling this way?

For a short moment he wondered if all those people also missed someone.

If they also left someone behind.

His eyes were resting but his mind was still in overdrive. Even though he had spent only a little more than 24 hours with Monica, those moments were infinitely more precious than all the other days that he spent apart from her. Realistically he knew that it was only a matter of time – eventually he would be back in New York in a few months. But these months seemed to drag on forever.

He was momentarily awoken from his reverie when turbulence had a firm grasp on the plane, shaking the metal flying object heavily. Fellow passengers gasped when their drinks keeled over and their hearts were in their mouths.

He was suddenly aware of his mere mortality when a grim thought entered his mind.

What if the plane goes down?

 _Damn._

He recalled the short weekend, and all the previous weekends as well as the weeks prior to the Tulsa debacle. All the meaningful hours he had spent with his friends – and with her.

Monica cooking breakfast.

Monica drinking coffee.

Monica doing laundry.

Waking up next to Monica.

Her smell, her smile.

His fingers dug into the armrest. If this was it, he knew one thing for sure: at least he was lucky enough to have found the love of his life.

And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the plane stopped shaking again and every passenger let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and before Chandler knew it, they had touched down safely in Tulsa. The hall of the airport was as busy as ever with people picking up their luggage and hugging loved ones at the arrivals gate.

And even though there was nobody there to greet him, Chandler felt a wave of gratefulness wash over him. He made it safely back to the ground and knew there was only one thing he needed to do now.

A smile played around his lips when he opened his phone and dialled the familiar number that he knew by heart.

He heard the free line signal on the other end and it took only seconds before she picked up and he was greeted by her warm voice from across the country.

"Hey, honey. Everything okay?"

He closed his eyes and savoured the moment before replying softly.

"Everything's okay. Because you keep me high, my dear."

* * *

 **A/N: I have wanted to write a Tulsa fic for so long but I never found the time or inspiration to do so. This came to me recently as I was listening to Jason Mraz's song "Plane" again and it immediately reminded me of Mondler during the Tulsa era. Hope you enjoyed – you'd make me a happy gal by leaving a review.**


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